15 reasons why public transport users should continue to use paper tickets

1.  PAPER tickets that offer daily, weekly or monthly travel require only one
     purchase, and display when entering a bus or ferry, or passing though a.city station.
     CARD holders must remember to touch on - and off - at every station, bus or ferry.
2.  PAPER ticket holders do not risk any extra penalties or charges as long as they display
     their tickets as necessary.
     CARD holders must remember to touch on and off each time they travel or 
     be liable to penalties and charges. And to be sure to do it correctly.
3.  PAPER tickets do not cost anything other than the cost of the ticket itself.
     CARD holders need to pay an upfront $5 to purchase a card, before loading it with credit.
4.  PAPER ticket users cannot be overcharged.
     CARD holders can be, and have been, overcharged by the electronic system. They must check
     after each trip to ensure that the correct fare has been charged - if they know what that is.
5.  PAPER ticker user knows the cost of his/her trip upfront, or the maximum cost of all of the
     daily, weekly, or monthly trips.
     CARD holders may make trips without knowing upfront the total cost of their single or multiple trips.
6.  PAPER ticket users can use their ticket to make a trip immediately after purchase.
     CARD holders may in some cases need to wait to travel for up to 24 hours after topping up their card.
7.  PAPER tickets can be lost or stolen - if so, the loss is limited to the cost of the ticket.
     CARD holders also lose their cards, and all of the unused credit if the card is not registered.
8.  PAPER tickets users do not need to access, or know how to use, a computer to get a ticket.
     CARD holders need to access the Internet if they want to register their card, or check usage records.
9.  PAPER ticket holders cannot travel on credit.
     CARD holders can travel using cards that have been funded by a credit card.
10. PAPER tickets users who travel only occasionally, pay as they go.
      CARD holders who travel occasionally need to recall how much credit remains on the card. There is
      the potential for a user's funds to remain unused for several weeks or months, and Translink doesn't pay
      interest on usused credit.
11. PAPER tickets for many users, occasional or frequent alike, remain cheaper on a weekly basis than
      CARDS. Even after the 40% hike in fares from 4 January.
12. For daily, weekly or monthly PAPER tickets users, there is no limit on the number of trips that can be     
      taken within the time period.
      CARD holders pay for each and every trip that they make, no matter how many.
13. PAPER tickets therefore encourage most regular users to use public transport more often.
      CARD holders who pay for every trip are discouraged from making more trips.
14. Visitors to the area for a short time, who need to travel can just pay cash at bus or ferry entry
      or obtain a PAPER ticket at the station for daily or weekly use. They do not want to purchase
      a CARD and load it with an uncertain amount of credit that may never be used or refunded.
15. Yes, purchasing a PAPER ticket on a bus with cash takes time. That's why most bus services should be
      converted to prepaid services, an essential step still not yet widely implemented. What does take
      time in a bus are the frequent delays that occur when the CARD machines are not working.